Expats Set to Drive Singapore Population Growth

Singapore is already one of the world’s most major destinations for expats but now the city state is planning for a 30% population growth with expats expected to make up the bulk of the increase.

The Singapore government has released a white paper, entitled A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore that suggests that by 2030 the population will increase to nearly 7m.

The white paper states, “It will become increasingly difficult to grow our workforce through our citizen population alone, unless we succeed in reversing the declining fertility trend,”

“A shrinking working-age population would mean a less vibrant and innovative economy while business activity would slow, and job and employment opportunities would shrink,”

Currently expats make up 38% of the population of Singapore but are expected to make up the majority by 2030. Like much of the industrialised world Singapore has a low and shrinking birth rate meaning that the government will have to look outside the territory to achieve the population growth to support continued economic success.

Work is already underway to ensure that Singapore’s infrastructure is able to cope with the population increase. Golf courses are having limits placed on their lease renewals to make space for housing and there are massive funding proposals in place for new mass transit expansion, hospitals and schools.